He had called on Prime Minister David Cameron to speak out against Operation Protective Edge's rocket attacks on suspected terror bases in neighbouring Gaza .

Just weeks before the General Election, Mr Miliband was criticised for "losing the Jewish vote" in an article published by respected magazine, The Spectator.

He said David Cameron's "silence on the killing of hundreds of innocent Palestinian civilians" was "inexplicable".

Writer Robert Philpot's article added: "It was not so much Miliband's condemnation that angered many British Jews, but its fiery nature."

He said his attitude showed a "lack of nuance — the apparent lack of context or empathy for Israeli civilians who found themselves under sustained attack from Islamist terrorists."

Richard Desmond's The Real Deal [Express]

Weeks later, Mr Miliband led Labour to its most crushing defeat in more than 20 years, winning just 258 seats compared with Mr Cameron's 307.

Today Mr Miliband's spokesman said: "This is an untrue account of a chance meeting. There was no rage or row.

"Ed did not use the language ascribed to him. He expressed views he has expressed in public many times before."

The politician's team referred to what was said to be "a rather humorous encounter" at a dinner attended by 300 lobby journalists in January.

They claimed that following the chance meeting in Hampstead, Mr Miliband left one of his children in Mr Desmond's care after the other child had run off to play on the heath.

But the Express Newspapers owner, who this week published his hard-hitting book The Real Deal: The Autobiography Of Britain's Most Controversial Media Mogul, tonight insisted: "I stand by my words."

To order a copy of Richard Desmond's The Real Deal: The Autobiography Of Britain's Most Controversial Media Mogul (£20, Cornerstone), please call the Express Bookshop on 01872 562310; send a cheque or postal order payable to Express Bookshop, to Real Deal Offer, PO Box 200, Falmouth, Cornwall, TR11 4WJ; or order online at expressbookshop.com. UK delivery is free.

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